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shelf life, can be substituted for the perish;:ble white shellac. Shellac's "cut" refers to the ratio of shellac to alcohol. Three pounds of shellac flakes dissolved in a gallon of alcohol is called 3-lb.-cut, 5 lb. in a gallon is 5-lb.-cut, etc. For French polishing, I make 2�-lb.-cut shellac. For moldings, carvings and turnings I make a heavier, 3�-lb.-cut solution. After mixing, I filter the 3�-lb. cut solution through a clean cloth. Mineral oil, a petroleum by-product, is used in French polishing as a lubricant. light-density oil is the best for French polishingbaby oil and lemon oil are also acceptable. Pumice stone is pulverized vulcanic stone used as an abrasive in French polishing. I buy the finest, the FFFF grade. The French name of French polishing is vernissage au tam- pon (varnishing with a tampon) . The tampon, in English, is called a pad, rubber or fad, but none of these are used exactly the same way a tampon is, so allow me to use the French word. The tampon is the French polisher's main tool. It holds the liquid shellac and alcohol and releases them as you squeeze it, or press it against the object to be polished. The inside of the tampon is wool, preferably some old, often-washed knit wool, such as part of a sweater or some white woolen socks. (According to my oId notes the best tampons are made of virgin lamb's wool) . Before making a new tampon, the wool has to be soaked with the 2�-lb.-cut shellac and hung up for about two hours. Before it dries completely, it must be stored in a tampon can (a tin can with a tightly fitting lid) or in a screw-top jar. A tampon must never dry out completely or it will be ruined. The tampon is not complete without its outer wrap, which I will call by its old name "linen." Nowadays, our linen is mostly cotton and/or some untraceable man-made cloth. The linen, as we will soon see, plays a crucial part in French polishing. An array of small secondary items makes the polisher's task easier. On my workbench, I have within easy reach two bottles (about a pint) and a third smaller one. All three have cork stop-' pers with a thin V-cut in the cork to slowly dispense the contents. I fi ll one pint bottle with denatured alcohol, and the other with the 2�-lb.-cut shellac. The smaller bottle contains the filtered 3�-lb.-cut shellac. On the workbench are two small tins, one containing 4F pumice stone, the second mineral oil. For dark or red woods (like mahogany) I fill a third tin with mineral oil tinted red or reddish brown with an oil-soluble aniline dye (in the old days, we colored the oil red with alkanet root) . First, I dissolve the dye in a small amount of lacquer thinner, then filter out the sediment before adding the dye to the oil. Under the bench I keep a toolbox containing three or four natural-bristle shellac brushes, a duster-brush, sandpaper (220 grit through 600 grit) and some cheesecloth. The most important step in mastering the art of French polish- ing is to understand the theory. A single flake of shellac, when dissolved in alcohol, can be spread over an unbelievably large area. When the alcohol evaporates, the film of shellac remaining on the surface is incredibly thin, dry within seconds, and you can spread a second layer on top of it, a third, fourth or hundredth, and all these layers will melt into one almost immeasurably thin layer. In French polishing, the tampon holds and dispenses the dissolved shellac as it rubs over and over the surface. Meanwhile, the linen retains a bit of pumice and transforms itself into a fine sanding cloth, smoothing the surface Simultaneously as it lays down countless layers of shellac. French polishing a flat s rface compared to playing a musical instrument, and no music teacher u - French polishing could be would start a beginner with an elaborate tune. Likewise, I strongly suggest that you practice on large, flat boards before you attempt to finish a piece of furniture. The technique is the same for a practice board or the little tabletop in the photos. The legs of the table require a different technique, as I'll explain later. After sanding thoroughly with 120-grit paper, I sponge the sur- face sparingly with water to raise the grain. When it's dry, with one-quarter sheet of fresh 150-grit aluminum oxide sandpaper wrapped around my hard rubber sanding block (carpet layers use such rubber blocks to kneel on) , I sand at a slight angle to the grain, so as not to push the raised grain back down, but rather to shave off the whiskers. I sandpaper the edges carefully, and break all the sharp corners. Then I sweep away the dust with my dust brush, and check my sanding. Not with my finger tips, but by laying my open palm on the board and moving it around. This way I can detect imperfections not otherwise perceptible. At this stage, the wood may be dyed, and that's what I did to my little mahogany table. I mixed a water-soluble red/brown aniline dye in water and applied it generously with a piece of soft rubber sponge. When dry, I sand again with 220- or 280-grit paper. I dust it off once more (not too carefully, since dust does not interfere with French polishing, especially not at the beginning) and I am ready to apply mineral oil. At this pOint, I would like to explain that there is a marked difference between the Italian, English and American schools of French polishing and the true French way. These methods coat the raw wood with a heavy layer of shellac and don't use oil at the beginning. The French way always starts by Oiling the surface. Using some cheesecloth, I spread on a coat of mineral oil and immediately wipe off the excess. A finisher always expends his best effort on the surface that will show. Since no one will closely examine the underside of a tabletop, I don't lavish the same attention there as I do on the top. After oiling, I brush the underside with the filtered 3�-lb.cut shellac. When dry, I build up a film of 2�-lb.-cut shellac with a piece of cheesecloth. It takes about five minutes to build a nice film on the underside. I'm ready to start polishing the top. French polishing is usually done in three phases. The first phase is the filling of the pores. From my shellac-soaked wool I cut off enough to make a tampon about the size of an egg (larger for a big surface) . Then, digging in my box of rags I pull out a piece of linen the size of a small handkerchief. I shape the wool to fit my hand, cover it with the linen and twist the linen tightly around it. From the alcohol bottle, I dribble alcohol onto the bottom of the tampon, and squeeze it into the tampon. The rule of thumb for applying alcohol-the tampon should be moist, but you should not be able to squeeze drops out of it. The downward pressure applied to the tampon shall always be the opposite of the tampon's load. A just fed tampon-very light pressure, a nearly dry tampon ... Iet me quote Olga, my teacher: "When your workbench sinks a half inch into the floor, the pressure is almost enough." I hold the tampon firmly so the thumb, index and middle finger can squeeze it to force out the moisture. To begin, I fasten the board securely to the workbench, raised May/june 1986 71